Vanished Like the Sun
by MindoftheSongbird
Summary: How long had it been? What was that beautiful green-eyed boy up to, now? Was Serah happy? She had failed herself far too many times. Post-game, slightly delving into parts of XIII-2.
1. Prologue

Haha hello, again! I seem to be publishing a lot, lately, don't I? a couple hours ago I had what was essentially a writing epiphany, I guess, and I _had_ to start writing out this awesome story. I've got so many things going on right now! But that's okay. I've got _so_ much free time! XD

**Disclaimer** : Still don't own any part of this beautiful franchise... Enjoy!

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><p>It was unfortunately dark that night with a heavy rain falling from the endless, starless sky. Every time she would look back, every single glance she tossed back at the beautiful crystal tower, she could only sigh sadly at the dark clouds that seemed to swallow her previous home. Lightning wasn't sure when exactly it was. She didn't know how many years had passed since the Fall of Cocoon. She didn't feel any older; she didn't look and older, either, but she was positive that at least <em>some<em> years had passed. She was anxious to find what was the city of New Bodhum. She at _least_ knew which direction it was in. She had no idea who would have put a great map of Gran Pulse here, but it was a magnificent idea, even though a lot of areas were marked with question marks. Clearly they hadn't discovered all of Pulse yet. She could help with that.

Lightning drew a couple writing implements from her bag, and began to sketch out the undiscovered areas of Pulse. She didn't know how long ago this was updated, but she could at least help. She wasn't very artistic, but it would suffice. Now other people would know about the rest of the land, the creatures, and the few leftover towns that she had come across upon her travels. Yes, she would at least be helping with something.

If she still couldn't help Cocoon, then surely she would help in some other way. She hadn't been there to help rebuild their new world… No, she had fled like a coward, searching for something that wasn't possible. Back then-however long ago it was- she _felt _something. Almost like someone was calling out to her. But she was wrong. She was so far off from the truth of things that it almost made her _sick_. She had failed. Lightning hadn't just failed those close to her; she had failed herself. She allowed herself to give into a moment of weakness, rather than experiencing important occurrences like her own sister's _wedding_. Lightning knew that Serah and Snow wouldn't wait for her to come back; he would have convinced her eventually. And by now, they would have a big, happy family.

Serah might even have…_grandchildren. _

Lightning didn't want to see it. She didn't even want to _think_ about it. She knew Serah would be unhappy raising her children without their…aunt. Yes, that's what she would be, now, isn't it? Lightning took one final look at the map that she had near completed. She had stalled long enough. She stood from her place on the cold, wet ground, and headed toward the lovely city of New Bodhum.

She had to wonder, though. Where _was_ everyone now? Had Dajh grown up into a fine, young man like his father? If not, was he in school? Did Sazh get remarried? What about Snow's stupid NORA gang? Had they dispersed into more respectable careers? If they'd kept up their mindset of no obligations, rules, or authority, than surely not. Would Lebreau have opened up another café like the one she had on Cocoon? Though Lightning didn't quite agree with the concept, that beachside café held quite the promising reputation. And what became of Hope?

Hope…how old was he now? Is his father with him? What was he doing? What sort of job did Hope have? Was he a man now? Did he look any different? Surely he would… Where _was_ he? Did he even stay in New Bodhum? Or did he travel to accommodate with his job? She felt a sort of lonely hurt tug at her heart when she thought of the boy. She knew it wasn't anything that her sister could fix… This wasn't a loneliness that Serah could shoo away with her presence. No, it was a hurt that only the strong hold of a lover could treat. She had been so lonely on her thoughtless journey. She thought about everyone more than often, but…she thought about Hope the most. Lightning was constantly asking herself. "What's he doing now? What is that smart kid thinking up now?"

She often had dreams about reuniting with everyone. It was always different with every place she settled down for the night. While she rested in Oerba for a time, she dreamt of meeting up with a man who was tall, had silver hair, and the most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen. In her dream, she saw this man tinkering around with small mechanical devices like manadrives, and things that looked suspiciously a lot like Bhakti. The man would turn toward her with a smile that reminded her so much of Hope, and hand her the same knife that she had given to Hope. Though his mouth would move, she never heard a word. About the fourth night she'd had the dream, she heard a familiar boy's voice filling the soft silence. The voice would say, "You left this behind. It's important, right?" Lightning would quickly reach out to the man, ignoring the knife, and desperately try to ask, "Who are you?" Though, every time, without fail, she would wake up before the words could leave her dream-self's mouth.

Lightning hadn't even noticed that through her deep reminiscing, she had crossed the border into New Bodhum. Where would she start? It was late at night; no one would be up to tell her where her sister resided. So, she walked. She trudged through the great city through the heavy rain, going from district to district until she spotted a sign that had a map of all of the near-by living residential areas and its occupants. Her cerulean eyes widened at the name _Villiers_ in the corner of the eastern neighborhood.

She broke out into a full-on run, only being weighed down by the rain that had soaked her to the bone. She couldn't stop now; it had been too long. Lightning had put so much effort into seeing-and saving- her sister beforehand, then she tossed it all aside for a search that was doomed to fail from the start. She wouldn't ever admit it, but she almost felt like she had wasted precious time spent with her sister. When they still lived on Cocoon, Lightning had grown to almost flat-out ignore her sister, thinking that the only thing she could do to help was to be the provider, and nothing more. To this day, she deeply regretted how she carried out the task of caring for her beloved baby sister. She swore to herself that as soon as she saved Serah, that she would rebuild that bond that had been long forgotten. And then? When the time came, she fled.

Her legs slowed to a slow walk as she approached the beautiful pale yellow house. Her legs couldn't carry her much farther than the door as she slowed to a stop in front of the door. She raised a pale hand and hesitantly, very hesitantly knocked on the door; once, twice, three times. She felt a little bad; everyone was probably asleep. After a few nerve-wracking minutes, she saw light begin to stream from one of the windows, and was nearly blinded by the porch light above her coming to life.

Lightning froze as she heard the locks being turned; the sound was almost deafening over the sound of the heavy rain. She could run—now wasn't the best time, right? No, she decided. She wouldn't run anymore. No matter how much she opposed it, she needed to stay put. She couldn't leave her sister behind _again_.

She sharply inhaled when the door was slowly cracked open, and almost winced at the widened eyes of her brother-in-law. He could only stare at the top of her head, as she refused to look directly at him. He saw her crack open her mouth one, two times, but no words would come from her. Snow placed a hand on her shoulder and drew her into a hug, patting the top of her soaked head.

"..come on in, sis..You've gotta be freezing." With a heavy sigh, he pulled her into the house and flicked her on the head. Tonight would be a long night.


	2. Haunting Cries

This one was so hard to write... It's just so sad!

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own. SE does.

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><p>Tonight would be a very long night indeed. Before Snow could even <em>think<em> about waking his wife up for this, he had to take care of Lightning first. She was shivering and soaking wet, and he could have sworn that he'd heard a deep rumble coming from her stomach. He immediately sent her off to take a nice, warming bath while he promised to have some hot tea and a snack ready for her when she returned. Snow had known that the younger Farron would kill both he and her sister if they met up like this. He could only imagine Serah's face-and her reaction-if she would finally see her sister after all these years, only to be reunited with a shivering, wet mess.

He had to quietly tip-toe into their shared room, and sneak into his wife's closet to hopefully find some pajamas that suited his sister-in-law's taste. He just _knew _that she would kill him if he offered her some sort of _girly_ shit, no matter how tired or ill she might be feeling. At least he was kind enough to leave the clothes outside the door, rather than invade on his sister's privacy—_Maker, forbid_…

Snow was glad to hear the sounds of his sister approaching, as he had just lain out a steaming bowl of vegetable soup and a hot mug of tea. Once she had settled down with her favorite comfort food, the blond had decided to ask the questions everyone so desperately wanted to know the answers to. "So…where _were_ you?"

She supposed it was a valid question. Lightning didn't even know _when_ it was. "Everywhere." Now it was time to ask _him_ a question that Snow certainly wasn't expecting. "What year…how long have I been gone?"

Snow paused for a moment, as if trying to come up with a reason as to why she would ask that. "It's…been ten years since we last saw you, Light. Why, weren't you just exploring Pulse?"

Lightning almost scoffed at his question. Was he _really_ that stupid? She was positive that most everyone thought she was dead. Shit, 'exploring Pulse' indeed… "…sure, if that's what you want to believe. Where's Serah?"

"Uhh…right. I'll go get her, Light. You'll finally get to meet everyone!" As Snow rushed off to the back of the house, Light could only stare at his retreating backside. _Everyone..?_

Snow rather unceremoniously woke up his wife by flipping the light on, and shaking her awake. He had immediately cowered under her intense glare at being woken; it was sort of scary how much Serah reminded him of his sister. A rather crude and unrefined "_What?_" was spat out at him, much different from the usually cheery voice he heard every day. Snow had immediately pointed out into the hallway, and simply said, "It's Lightning."

Without a second thought, Serah ripped the heavy covers off of her form and pushed her husband to the ground as she quickly bounded for the lit kitchen. She couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing. Serah saw her sister hovering over an empty bowl of soup, clad in her own grey pajamas. She found it hard to believe that Lightning was _really_ there. "…Claire?"

Lightning's eyes shot straight up to that sweet familiar voice, and she immediately rushed over to her sister. She was far from concerned about the chair she had knocked over as she wrapped her strong arms around her beloved younger sister. It felt odd being able to hold her sister again… Though…something felt off. There was something about Serah that was different. …and…it was…kicking..her? Lightning pulled away from her sister, and looked down at the rather rounded tummy that was the younger Farron's. "…Serah..is that..are you…pregnant..?"

"Oh. Yeah! Ooh, I'm _so_ excited that you're here for this one! This'll probably be our last one…"

_For this one…? How many does she have?_ "..yeah… Are…are they asleep?"

"Yeah..we'll have introductions in the morning, okay Claire?" Serah was so giddy… She never seemed to let the smile slide off of her face. She quickly pulled Lightning over to the couch, and pushed her to sit down with her. "Where have you been all this time, Claire..? It's been so hard without you…"

Hearing that made Lightning's heart ache. She had once again abandoned her sister, and look what she had missed? The only way she could make up for it would be to never leave again… "Oh…I've just been everywhere…" She meant that in both time and place, unfortunately. She almost wished she could go back in time and stop herself from ever leaving in the first place. "What have you been up to, Serah..?"

"Oh, you know…raising kids…rebuilding the world…oh! I'm a teacher now, too!"

"How…how many kids do you have?" Lightning was slightly afraid of the answer; it would tell her at least a fraction of what the married couple…did..

"This one makes the fourth one! I think it's gonna be a girl, but Snow thinks otherwise.."

As much as Lightning wanted to keep a watchful eye on her sister, as much as she wanted to make sure that Serah wouldn't disappear and continue the hellish nightmare, she had trouble keeping her eyes open. She would catch herself nodding off, and would be brought back to Serah lightly shaking her awake. Eventually, Snow had decided to let the two sisters have the master bedroom, while he took refuge on the couch. It was the least he could do for his sister.  
>_<p>

When Lightning awoke the next morning, the first thing she saw was a pair of bright blue eyes almost identical to her own. They were large and round with the biggest hint of curiosity to them. She was looking at the eldest Villiers child. The girl had bright blonde hair, much like her father's, and a smile that looked fairly reminiscent of Serah's own loving smile. The energetic child took a hold of Lightning's right hand, and immediately began to pull her up and out of bed. The little girl kept her smile on her face the entire time she dragged her aunt to the kitchen. "It's time to eat breakfast, Auntie Claire!"

….of _course_ Serah would tell her children to call her that. Lightning had to admit, though, that it did sound a little cute coming from her niece. As soon as she was seated at the table by the rather proud blonde girl, Snow lifted his daughter up into his arms, and eventually onto his shoulders. "Great job with your mission, Nora. You can have chocolate milk with your breakfast for it."

"Snow!" Serah threw a damp towel at her husband's face in annoyance. "You know the rule!"

At this, both Snow and Nora pouted. How could they forget Serah's "no chocolate before lunch" rule? It was pretty hard to forget after the mishap at Christmas. Apparently, children, sweets, and early mornings don't mix. Lightning couldn't help but chuckle at her brother-in-law and niece. "Nora, how old are you?" The older Farron figured that she should _probably_ know the ages of her nieces and nephews..

The blonde girl-still sitting atop her father's shoulders-held up a hand with five digits held up, and another hand with one. "I'm six! ...and a half!" Of course. You can't forget the halves, can you?

It was then that a boy who looked to be about four walked over to his aunt, and climbed onto her lap without a word. "That's Ian, Sis. He's always been a little quiet." Ian, as Snow had said, had bright blue eyes and pink hair. He was a splitting image of his mother, and like her brother-in-law said, he was quiet. He didn't even seem to offer her a 'hello.'

"Be nice to Auntie Claire, Ian!" Nora huffed, and slammed her fists down onto her father's head.

Lightning snorted; apparently Nora took after her in terms of harming Snow. When Serah appeared in the dining room with a fresh plate of pancakes, she also had a shy two-year old girl balanced on her hip. "Don't beat up your father, Nora," she had said calmly, and placed the girl at the table, directly across from Lightning. She couldn't believe it; this girl-Emily, she had later learned, looked exactly like her. It was as if Lightning was looking at her much, _much _younger self. Bright aquamarine eyes were staring intensely at the table with her soft, pink hair braided off to one side. _

Much to Lightning's dismay, a visitor had come to interrupt her and Nora's mid-day nap. With a grumpy look on her childish features, Nora opened the door to greet friends Sazh, and….Sazh, from the looks of it. No, no, that's not right. The pinkette then remembered that Dajh was now a strong, and exceedingly tall sixteen-year old. He seemed to take after his father quite a lot, right down to the fluffy afro on top of his head. He was no longer the short, adorable little boy of six; he was now a broad, well-built man. He was _surely_ taller than Hope, now.

…Hope.

How had she forgotten? Hope was the only other person she cared about. He was special. He was all she thought about anymore. Every thought she had about returning home involved him. 'When I get back, I can see Serah and _Hope._' 'I can live down the street from Serah in a house with _Hope._' 'When I return, I can be happy with _Hope_.' '_Hope_ and I can have a happy life together.' 'I miss _Hope…'_

In the cold depths of Valhalla, there wasn't much to think about. She was essentially alone for ten years in an endless nightmare. But thoughts of the boy gave her hope. He _was_ her Hope. But what was he doing now? He'd be…twenty-four? He wouldn't be the short, cute teenager she had known before. What he working? Was he even in New Bodhum? She'd seen a town called 'New PalumPolum; on the map before… Was he there with his father? Was his dad even alive?

Lightning had so many questions, but she couldn't seem to voice a single one. Needless to say, she was rather distracted during her reunion with an old friends and his son. They asked questions and spoke of what they had done, but Lightning couldn't stay focused. There was just too much Hope on her mind right now. Without much warning, she stood in the middle of one of Sazh's comments, and dropped Nora into his arms. She stalked over to her sister, who held a look of confusion on her features. "Where's Hope?"

Serah smiled, though she knew her sister would see right through it. "He lives down the street. 425 North Nora Lane…" She saw a smile and a hint of anticipation on her sister's face, and it pained her. _If she only knew…_ "Light, why don't you stay here for a little while..?" Serah had hoped that her request would halt her Lightning's determined quest, but it failed. Before she could finish the last word, the older Farron was out the door. "Snow…go after her." With a serious nod from the blond, he briskly followed after his sister-in-law.

When he reached the end of his driveway, he noticed that Lightning had already made it a little over halfway to Hope's house. He knew trying to stop her would do no good; she would just knock him to the ground like she always had. But…he had to do something.

Lightning felt a fluttering nervousness bubble in her stomach. She couldn't wait, though! She hadn't seen him in so long. She barely hesitated in knocking on the door, and almost laughed when she heard someone stumbling around for a minute before the door had finally opened. She stared up-yes, up-into those beautiful green eyes, and watched them widen in surprise.

"Light…?" It took him a moment to realize just _who_ was in front of him before he launched towards her in a big, comfortable hug. "Lightning! You're…you're _here!_ When did you get back? Where were you? Did you get hurt where you were? How did you get back?"

_So many questions…_ But she didn't care. She was being held by the man she loved. She felt _happy_ with his strong arms around her… She felt like she had someone to protect her. He quickly pulled her inside, and sat her on the grey couch that resided in his living room. "I doubt you would recognize the place…and I got back last night. I didn't really get hurt, I was just lonely… What about you?"

Hope only smiled at her, and recounted what he had done in the past ten years. He finished his schooling while living with his dad, and he had just finished studying at the University of Bodhum. When she asked him what he was going to do next, he simply shrugged. "I'm honestly not sure. I mean…since you're back, everything gonna change. I mean, I was thinking about being one of the main people in the group to find you, but…well, you're here, so that group won't exist anymore!" His laugh was melodic…beautiful, even. She could only smile and laugh, and felt a warm, comforting feeling in her heart.

"…I really missed you, you know…" When he heard this, he simply smiled, and said the same. Did he really miss her as much as she missed him..? "Hope…I…I—"

The door swung open, and a little boy ran into the house. He dropped his backpack by the couch, and hopped up onto Hope's lap. "I'm home, Daddy!"

…_Hope has a kid?_

Lightning didn't seem to believe it at first, but slightly frowned when he spoke to the boy. "Son, this is Lightning. You know, Aunt Serah's sister that we told you alllll about?"

The little boy's face lit up, and he hopped off of his father's lap, and moved onto hers without permission. She…was a little uncomfortable. _If Hope has a kid…does that mean..? No, he would have waited for me…right?_

The pink-haired woman was too distracted by the small child on her lap to notice the door opening once more, and the way Hope's face lit up at the new guest. The boy on her lap quickly hopped away to follow his father to the door, only to drag the unknown woman and two other children over to Lightning.

"Mommy, lookie! Auntie Lightning's here!"

_No…_

"Ah, so _you're _the famous Lightning Farron I've heard so much about! I was wondering if I would ever get the chance to meet you, especially since my husband talks so fondly of you…"

_This can't be happening…_

"I see you've already met our oldest. He seems to be quite fond of you!" The dark-haired woman's smile was warm and friendly, and she nudged a younger-looking boy forward. "Don't be shy, Ian… This is your Aunt Serah's sister, Lightning. Is it alright if we call you Light?"

_No.._ The color had long drained from her face, and she felt a painful sting in the back of her eyes. She wanted to be anywhere but here, even as far as Valhalla.

"Light…" Hope's voice drew her attention back to him. "Our youngest…our only daughter… We named her Claire…"

…what was she supposed to say to that? She couldn't get mad at him… She was gone for ten years. She thought he'd wait for her… "…thank you…Hope…" She stood from her place at the couch, trying her hardest to force a smile onto her face. "…it…it's getting late, so I-I should probably head home…"

Hope then took the initiative to pull Lightning to the door, proclaiming that he would escort her home

"_No_… I-I mean…it's just down the street…I can get there by myself…" Lightning pulled herself out of the silver-haired man's grip, and pushed herself through the door, despite the endearing concerns and offers to stay. She let out a shaky breath and shook a little from all of her built-up emotions desperately trying to break free. She covered her face with a bare hand, and urged herself to move forward, to leave this happy place that caused her such despair.

She was stopped by something like a wall, causing her tear-soaked hand to slide from her face. She looked up at the wall with red, bleary eyes to find the soft, sympathetic appearance of her brother-in-law. She dropped her head onto Snow's chest, and finally let a heart-wrenching sob echo through the air. She couldn't do this. She felt her knees shake and threaten to give out, but was saved from the cold, hard ground by the blond's strong embrace. She couldn't stop now; no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the tears, the screams of emotional agony to cease.

Snow lifted her into his arms, and begun the seemingly long trek home. He knew she wouldn't be able to carry herself all the way home; it didn't matter if she would later get angry with him. All that mattered were her haunting cries that drifted into the sky…


End file.
